Shadows Fall
by fyrefox13
Summary: Link faces his dark side, and finds it difficult to kill that darkness. However, Darkness isn't finished off so easily. Rated M for Mature for intense violence, blood, eventual torture, and perhaps a bit of shounen-ai in later chapters. DarkxLink Ocarina
1. Chapter 1

**About this story:** I try to write Link as best I can, knowing that he doesn't speak in ANY of the games... so I do try to keep him as silent as possible, but sometimes he just has to say something... especially when Dark asks him something. This chapter I did give him some thoughts, just to get a hint of emotions lying beneath the surface. However, that where Dark comes in in this chapter, he's loud, somewhat arrogant, and talks a good bit more than Link, because he's sorta Link's dark counterpart, he can't help but voice his opinions. Dark Link also doesn't have all that much of a filter between his brain and his mouth, so he speaks unnecessarily, and rudely sometimes. But that's what we love about him right? I do try to keep the action and violence up in this story, I mean it's based off of a video game, so you gotta have a lot of action am I right? Also, as I was writing it at first, people were asking for more dialogue, and so I had to up that a bit, but there's still a lot of fighting and blood. Perhaps a bit more than is typically in a Zelda game, but I go for a sense of realism, while keeping it cannon.

**Summary:** Link faces his dark side, and finds it difficult to kill that darkness. However, Darkness isn't finished off so easily. Rated M for Mature for intense violence, blood, shounen-ai, eventual torture, and perhaps a bit more than shounen-ai in later chapters. *wink* *wink* DarkxLink.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author's Notes: **This is a story I've been working on for a while now... Well, okay, I started it a while ago, and it's been on hiatus for a while due to a terrible bout of writer's block lasting for months (also been suffering from artist's block as well, so it's more like a lack of creativity on my part, but I digress, go find Kairi. lol) But I just got into recently, and i've been dying to post something here... even though it's already on my DA (byohazrd13)

_Now on with the story already!  
_

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As he passed through the door iron bars crashed down behind him. He took a quick look around the new room, and he was taken aback by the strange sight before him. It seemed as though he was outside, but he knew he was still within the confines of the Water Temple. A strange ambient light filled the room which seemed to stretch on forever. There was only a monolithic stone doorway through which he had just passed, another identical to it on the other side, a strange island in the glassy water, occupied by a leafless tree. Other strange large stones emerged from the glassy surface of the water that stretched as far as his eyes could see. Cautiously, he made his way to the other door, making sure too keep an eye out for any enemies that happened to be hiding somewhere out of sight. His mind was filled with confusion as he found heavy iron bars blocking the exit, he had not seen anything that gave a clue as to how to open the door.

"Hey!" Navi called out to him, "We can't go this way because of these thick iron bars, you'll have to figure out some other way to get out." Link wanted to swat the fairy in that moment, for overstating the obvious, but he didn't bother with it, he knew he couldn't afford to go on without her aid, even if she was annoying. With a heavy sigh, he turned around to explore the area further when he saw a faintly transparent silhouette with eyes tinged red, appearing under the tree. Drawing his sword, Link cautiously walked back the way he had come, and as he did, the figure became solid, and he realized that it looked exactly like him, but was wearing black, in fact, he appeared all in grey, even his hair, which was black. This shadow was lacking any color whatsoever, except for his eyes, which were vibrant red like Shiek's, but ablaze with anger and hate.

Without a word the dark version of Link, sword already in hand, attacked Link with the same technique the young hero used. He didn't have enough time to dodge the attack, so his shadow's sword came down on his shield with a heavy CLINK that spat sparks into the air on contact. Link tried to back away at first, trying to put some space between himself and his opponent, but it was no use, he ended up defending a barrage of attacks as he retreated, and decided to fight back with a flurry of steel. Navi was flying about Dark Link, trying to aid the Hero of Time, but everything he threw at the shadow was countered and thrown back at him. In a nearly desperate move, he backflipped, then turned swiftly and and ran away from his opponent, but only until he had put a reasonable distance between himself and his double, then charged up his spin attack, waiting until Dark Link was within range, then unleashed the fierce attack, forcing his enemy to backflip away and back off for a moment.

"Navi, please don't try to help me this time, I think it's helping him more than me, like he knows what I'm planning." Link said, watching as the other sunk into the water, then popped up to his side, but he was ready with a small spin attack to fend him off.

"Okay, be careful." Navi told him as she hid herself under Link's hat. Before Dark Link could attack him, he readied his sword and attacked him, letting out a battle cry as he brought the sword down towards his opponent's head. At the last possible moment Dark Link moved back, the sword barely whizzing past his nose.

"You're going to have to do better than that 'hero'." Dark nearly spat mockingly at the blonde with the blue eyes. Link made the shadow wish he hadn't said anything as he unleashed Din's Fire on the other, the flames spread out, knocking the other back, and he fell into the water with a SPLASH. Before Dark could get up again Link once again brought his sword down upon the shadowy figure, but it met only the metal of the grey shield that his double wielded. Link backflipped away as Dark Link took a swipe at his ankles, and Link kept backing away, once again trying to put some distance between them.

Dark laughed as he stood up, glancing at his singed tunic before he sank into the water and popped up behind Link. This time Link's reaction was too slow and cried out in pain as the blade bit into the flesh on his back as he tried to move out of the way. Dark Link quickly followed up with another slash which Link somehow managed to avoid before he whipped around with his own sword which bit deep into Dark's shield arm, blood quickly spilling down his arm. The shadowy Link jumped back before Link could attack again, and slipped below the water, reappearing next to the tree where he dropped the shield he could no longer wield effectively, and would only become a burden. Link took a moment to place his own shield on his back to defend against another attack from behind.

The shadowy incarnation charged forward and brought his sword down upon Link, but Link blocked it with his own sword, and they stood there for a moment, Link glaring fiercely into Dark's blazing red eyes. Dark, in turn stared into Link's bright blue eyes, then smirked.

"Tell me Link, I've been wondering, would it be suicide if I killed you?" Link answered by using the leverage he'd just found to knock his opponent back, then lunged forward to try and end it by running Dark Link through, but he should have known that someone so like himself would not go down that easily. Dark jumped up and landed on Link's sword and grinned, but did not use this opportunity to attack.

'Is he toying with me?' Link wondered to himself, then he could no longer hold up the weight on his sword and brought it down, hoping that Dark would fall, but he saw it coming and backflipped off before Link could make his move. Fortunately this gave Link time to be ready with his next attack. Dark Link was still regaining his center after the awkward backflip off of Link's sword when the same blade came at him, tracing a line across his midsection. He doubled over in pain as liquid as red as his eyes stained his black tunic. The stain continued spreading as Link readied Din's Fire again, not seeing the look of pain and sadness in the other's eyes. He unleashed the spell as Dark Link tried to stand, knocking his already injured opponent back, where he landed on the small island. Link was swift in pulling his sword out again as he ran towards the shadow that lay unmoving. As he came close, he saw the shadow's suffering, he kicked the sword out of Dark's hand, and it slid far out of their reach. He had this battle won, all he had to do was end it, he raised his sword to mercifully kill the shadow, but he couldn't do it.

'...would it be suicide if I killed you?' Dark Link's words echoed in his head, and they now seemed more meant for Link than for Dark. Link knew that this was all a ploy of Gannondorf, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to kill his own image. Again he raised his sword, he had to kill this thing before the bars on the doors would lift and he could leave the room, but again his thoughts stayed his hand. Trying to shorten the distance his sword had to travel to deliver the final blow in an effort to overcome his doubts, he straddled his shadow, and poised his sword above it's heart.

'Why couldn't he have fallen in battle? This isn't right!' Link thought to himself, wishing he'd managed to lop off his opponent's head or something, at least while he had been armed. He slowly brought the sword down to his side, and took off Dark Link's hat, not surprised at all that his silky black hair was the same length, pulled back into the same small ponytail he kept his own hair in.

"What's the matter? Finnish it already." His breath was labored, and Link realized that his voice sounded like it had not been used much in a very long time. Dark opened his eyes, and Link was surprised to see that they no longer contained malice, but sorrow. "Please, finnish it." Dark pleaded with his eyes, and put his hand on Link's.

"I... You're just a shadow, created by Gannondorf to make me doubt myself." Link started, more for himself than his fallen opponent. Then Dark Link made a shushing sound.

"Don't say such things. I exist because you exist. I have nothing to do with Gannondorf, except that I'm indentured to him, I serve him because he summoned me from the Shadow Realm. Nothing more." Dark Link said, his straining voice still filled with pride. "You still have to kill me if you want to leave this room."

"I can't." Link said defiantly, his sword arm shaking.

"You don't have to worry about me, even if you kill me I can't die. I told you, I exist because you exist." Link still would not raise his sword again, so Dark took hold of Link's shoulder with one hand, and the hilt of the Master Sword with the other. He positioned the tip of the blade on his chest, then pushed it in as he pulled himself up to Link, his lips gently meeting with his. "Go kill Morphia... I'll wait for you..." and his voice trailed off as he went limp and fell back onto the ground, a pool of blood growing beneath him. Link heard the sound of the bars on the doors sliding up.

"Okay." Link said obligingly, even though the shadowy double could no longer hear him. Link stood up and pulled his sword out, then wiped off the blood before putting it back in it's sheathe. He went and collected Dark's sword and shield. The shield he leaned against the tree, and he folded Dark's arms across his chest, then put the sword in his hands in a show of respect, then left the room.

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Author Notes: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I enjoyed writing it, and I always enjoy re-reading it... namely because I went crazy and had fun with the fight. Reviews are nice, and always appreciated, but won't do too terribly much good until the later chapters, because this was posted up to ch.7 all at once.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author Notes:** Yes, I know I changed the story here... but how the heck else am I supposed to write a chaptered story about Dark Link? Don't worry, everything else, I'll follow the story perfectly... just with the added fun of Dark Link hanging around and pestering Link... and some added trouble for Dark to get himself into.

* * *

Dark Link awoke to find he was laying in shallow water, and he slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, he did not see the illusion of the room he'd been trapped in, but a ceiling, and walls in the dim light. He felt the cold metal of his sword in his hands, and he ran his thumb along the familiar grip on the hilt. Slowly he sat up, his chest still hurt from where he'd run himself through with Link's sword, although no trace of the wound was left, not even a slit in his tunic.

'Why in the world didn't I turn the sword on him, I had the perfect chance when he refused to kill me.' Dark asked himself, but he already knew the answer to that, he hated Gannondorf as much as Link did, and knew that Link was the one destined to kill the King of Evil. Also, he'd seen something in those blue eyes. He didn't know what, but it stopped him from even wanting to kill the young hero. Dark Link groaned as he stood up, he knew he had to report back to Gannondorf's castle now, to report what had happened, and he was dreading the conversation with that man. He picked up his shield, slung it over his back then left the temple by sinking into the shadows and disappearing.

Dark emerged out of the shadows on the desolate road that lead to the castle, which was more of a fortress, floating high above a gigantic pit of lava. A bridge created by dark magic appeared as he approached, and he cautiously crossed it, fearing that Gannondorf might try and dispose of him as he crossed. Nothing of the sort happened, either Morphia had killed Link and the evil King wanted someone to gloat in front of, or he wanted to personally punish Dark Link for failing, either way, it earned him safe passage across the gap. The bridge disappeared when he reached the other side, and he entered the foreboding castle. A gap in the barrier appeared and he was allowed into the tower. Instead of having to deal with all of the obnoxious monsters that would blindly attack anyone but Gannondorf himself, he sunk into the shadows, and ended up standing at the top of the tower, looking at the huge doors to Gannondorf's chamber, the deafening music of his pipe organ resounding down the stairwell. Dark took a deep breath, and swallowed hard before opening the door and facing his master.

The heavy door creaked closed behind him when he entered, and he strode confidently into the center of the room, to the place on the floor he knew was solid. It was wise not to stand in any spot where this man could spring anything like a collapsing floor on an unsuspecting individual. Dark just hoped that Link would realize this about the floor when he faced the King of Evil. For the longest time, Gannondorf did not even acknowledge Dark standing there, but continued to pound away at the enormous instrument. Finally, Gannondorf stopped, and Dark could hear the last note echoing down the tower, giving way to an uncomfortable silence.

"So, Boy, what news do you have for me?" The large man's voice was deep and powerful.

'Wait, news? Does he really not know yet?' Dark Link thought to himself, and a thought crossed his mind. It was very dangerous indeed, to let it out would most likely mean death if Gannondorf found out it was a lie.

"Well, what news do you have for me? Since you are out of that little room of yours that means you've faced that troublesome kid. So, did you kill him, or did he kill you?" Gannondorf demanded, without even turning to face him. Dark Link silenced his nerves, and spoke.

"He's defeated. I left him to die where we fought." The shadowy figure in the center of the room confidently announced, and regretted it immediately. 'Why in the world am I protecting him?' Dark thought to himself.

"You left him to die?" Gannondorf questioned, finally turning to face his indentured servant. "You imbecile! You left him to die?!" The large man stood. "So, is that why my creature guarding the Water Temple was destroyed? You didn't make sure he was dead?" Gannondorf said as he strode across the room towards Dark Link, stopping mere feet away from him, and looking down his incredibly large, ugly nose at Dark.

"Uh, I suppose?" Dark answered, loosing his confidence. In one quick movement Gannondorf wrapped one of his massive hands around Dark's neck, and picked him up, bringing him up to his own eye level. Dark used his own hands to try and release his neck from Gannondorf's grasp, but his grip was as iron as his hold on Hyrule. A look of terror filled Dark's eyes as the tyrant tightened his grip, cutting off his air and circulation, and Dark began to struggle, kicking wildly, trying to strike Gannondorf to make him let him go, but his feet couldn't find their target as he started to black out. The giant of a Gerudo tossed Dark to the side as if he was nothing, and he hit the wall hard, nearly shattering the stained glass, then he fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Coughing and gasping for air, Dark didn't dare rise at first, instead, he stayed down until he was sure Gannondorf was through.

"You're incompetent boy, but at least you came to tell me what happened, unlike the buffoon at the ranch. I'll give you one more shot, find this troublesome kid and kill him. Make sure he's good and dead this time." Gannondorf ordered the shadowy figure still laying battered and beaten on the floor as he went back to his pipe organ, and once again began to pound out notes that echoed down the tower. Dark slowly rose to his feet, coughing all the while, then left the room before sinking into the shadows.

The bridge of Dark Magic reappeared as he made his way out of the castle, and Dark ran across, fearing that Gannondorf had changed his mind about giving him another shot. Dark walked the path a little ways, kicking rocks in anger as he went, but then slipped back into the shadows to try and catch up with Link before he left Lake Hyla.

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**Author note:** Sorry this chapter was short, I wrote it this way AGES ago, and this was really the best stopping place for what I wanted to do in the next chapter. Yeah. The chapters do get longer a little later in the story, so don't fret!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author Notes:** I bet you had a weird taste in your mouth after that last chapter huh? Thought so, Gannondorf is a jerk. Yeah, this chapter was fun to wright the first part for... but the latter bit was hell. Enjoy!

* * *

He emerged from the shadows at the lake, and walked down to the water's edge. He had not seen the lake while it was full before, as Gannondorf had trapped him in that room after the lake had gone dry, but it was a thing of splendid beauty. He squinted his eyes against the rising sun while he stood at the water's edge, and he spied Link out on the island atop the water temple, he was aiming his bow into the sun, and Dark was puzzled as to what was going on. He barely saw the arrow that was shot fall back down on the other tiny island, and Link jumped in, supposedly going to retrieve it. Dark could hardly use his shadow traveling trick to cross the bridge to the island, as there were too few shadows around him, so he ran to the bridge and dashed across, hoping that Link had not decided to swim back to where Dark had just been standing. Dark was in luck, Link had left his horse on the island, and had come back to retrieve it. When Link saw him standing there, he instinctively drew his sword. Dark raised his hands in surrender, then removed his sheathe with his sword from his back, then held them out to Link.

"I'm not here to fight," Dark coughed, his throat still suffering from what Gannondorf had just done to him. "I'm here to make a proposition. Gannondorf thinks I'm here to kill you. I suggest that you go along with that, and lay low for a while, so he believes you are dead, and draw him out to make a move." Dark proposed as Link reached out and took his sword.

"Why? Why would I want to draw him out?" Link asked, still leery of his shadow, despite having the other's weapon in hand.

"There are six temples in Hyrule." Dark said, watching Link as he thought about it. "and six sages."

"Light, Forrest, Fire, Water..." Link's voice trailed off, counting them on his hand, then looked at Dark. "What are the other two? And where do I find them"

"Shadow and Spirit. I don't know where they are, which is why you should let Gannondorf make the next move, and lead you to them." Dark smiled, thinking his proposition was completely logical.

"Why are you helping me?" Link said, narrowing his eyes at his doppelgänger. Dark noticed that his blue tunic matched his eyes very well.

"I can't stand Gannondorf, and you are the one destined to kill him, that's why." Dark stated simply, and he watched Link think it out. Link did not trust him at all, and rightly so, but Dark had made a point that Link could not simply dismiss. Dark started to turn and walk away, despite not having his sword back, but stopped in his tracks when he heard his sword leaving it's sheath.

"What do you suggest I do in the mean time?" Link asked, looking Dark's sword over, no doubt comparing it to his own. Dark shrugged his shoulders as he turned back around to face Link, his arm poised to retrieve his shield. Link didn't trust Dark, and in turn, Dark didn't trust Link to let him leave so freely.

"I don't know, go rest somewhere, get more supplies. What you do with your time is not my problem." Dark said coldly, but he almost wished he could have gone with the young blond hero, wherever he chose to go while he was waiting. "Who knows, Gannondorf might make his move sooner than we think." Dark added, and with that Link put the sword back into it's sheathe and offered for Dark to take it back. He gazed into the rich blue eyes of the hero before reaching out and taking his sword back. Dark turned on his heel and quickly walked away from Link, headed towards the bridge when he was stopped by the sound of Link's voice.

"Do you need a ride?" Link called out. "If I'm laying low, it probably wouldn't be the best idea for me to go galloping around on a horse now would it? Besides, if you killed me you'd probably take my horse to prove it right?" Dark turned around, a sheer look of amazement on his face. Link was standing by his horse, holding the reigns out, offering them to Dark.

"Where are you going?" Dark asked, slowly approaching Link.

"Kakariko Village." Link said plainly.

"That's a long way away, are you sure you don't want to take your horse?" Dark inquired, as he carefully took the reigns in his hands. Link smiled and shook his head.

"No, I don't have to, I have this." Link pulled a shining silvery ocarina out of his tunic and showed it to Dark.

"Is that..." Dark started, but Link cut him off.

"The Ocarina of Time. Yes." Dark stared at the instrument in awe for a moment before Link put it back in it's hiding place. "Take good care of my horse okay? Her name's Epona. Don't push her too hard or I will kill you." Link said, narrowing his eyes at his shadowy dopplegänger as he stroked his horse's flanks and gave her a few pats.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Dark said as he mounted the horse. "While you're in Kakariko you might want to check out the graveyard. If I were to build a monument to shadows, what better place than with the shadows of the past?"

"I thought you didn't know where either temple was." Link remarked, staring at the strange young man on his horse.

"It's a guess, I am a shadow of you, you know. Besides, the Sheikah were known for living in the shadows." With that, Dark flicked the reigns and gave the horse a light spur and directed her cautiously onto the high wooden bridge. Dark faintly heard ocarina music as he reached the small island with a headstone and looked back to the island above the temple as it faded, but could no longer see Link, and marveled at the power of that small instrument.

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**Author Note:** That bit trying to figure out where they were going to look without giving it away was TORTURE to write... hope you enjoyed it... on to the next chapter, which should be a little longer... and we really start to get a sense of Dark as a character. Reviews are nice, I always like hearing what you think of my writing.


	4. Chapter 4

****Spoiler alert**** If you have not finished the Water Temple (or never read the guide all the way through) this story sort of spoils a small cutscene... nothing serious, I mean they don't make any attempt at really hiding the events of the cutscene... (unlike a later cutscene after the fall of Twinrova at the Spirit Temple) and not that I actually have Dark anywhere near it... it's still there... so yeah... don't hate me for it please.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author Note:** This was a great deal of fun to play around with Dark and Epona not getting along, but a pain to actually get the story moving around it... and what's an Ocarina of Time story without a trip to LonLon Ranch? NOTHING, that's what! (Shorter, that's what) Besides, Malon was fun to write. It also prevented me from dealing with the epic cut scene of Kakariko... Yay! (because as I was writing it, I'd forgotten exactly what happened because i've been stuck in the shadow Temple for a LONG TIME)

_Yeah, on with the story!_

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When Dark had finally reached the end of the bridge he gave Epona a good spur and the two sped towards Hyrule field. As horse and rider neared the high iron fence blocking off the lake, Dark spurred the horse again, and leaned forward, getting ready for the jump. At the last possible second Epona stopped in her tracks then reared with a whinny, and Dark was nearly thrown. After collecting his nerves, he turned the horse around and moved far enough away to get up enough speed to make the jump and again spurred the horse into action. Once again he readied himself for the jump and again Epona stopped in her tracks before rearing. This time Dark had been so sure she'd jump that he lost hold of the reins when Epona reared and he fell off, landing hard on his back.

"Stupid horse." Dark remarked as he picked himself up off the ground. Epona answered with a snort and scrapped her hoof on the ground. Dark glared angrily at the horse as he rubbed his throbbing behind. "Fine, be that way, I'll leave you here!" Dark spat, spying a ladder on the brick wall on one side of the iron fence. After climbing the ladder and walking to the other end of the brick wall, Dark looked out across the field and visibly sank. The last time he'd gone across the field it had been night, and he'd been able to use his shadow traveling trick. There was no way he could use it during the day, and there was no way he was going to walk. Rolling his eyes, he turned around and looked at Link's horse.

"What do you say we call a truce? You need me to take you somewhere Link can find you, and I need you to get to Kakariko." Dark said as he walked back to the ladder and jumped down off of the wall. The large horse just looked at him, but then permitted him to climb into the saddle. Dark turned Epona around again and moved back again, then leaned to whisper in the horse's ear. "And if you don't jump this time, I really will leave you here." Dark said in the sweetest voice he could manage, before giving Epona a solid spur and again, they sped towards the fence. This time Epona cleared the fence with ease, and Dark gave another spur and she cleared the second fence as well. Without stopping, Dark and Epona rode across Hyrule Field until he could see the remains of Castle town.

Dark pulled back on the reins, and Epona slowed down, and he directed her cautiously towards the ruined town. As he reached a ledge held in place by a brick wall he suddenly caught sight of a dark figure on the stairs that lead to Kakariko, and he nearly panicked. Dark quickly hid Epona behind the ledge, and snuck around the top, hiding as best he could in the meager afternoon shadows. There was no mistaking that the tall, dark man with the flowing cape was none other than the King of Evil, Gannondorf. Dark rubbed his throat as the dark figure mounted an enormous horse, galloped over the bridge spanning the Zora's River, went wide before he circled around and easily cleared the broken drawbridge that lead to the old Castle town.

"That was close." Dark sighed in relief as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He knew he should head to Kakariko to look into the graveyard for himself, but he was afraid of what Gannondorf had done on his little 'visit'. Dark had no idea where else he could be useful, but he was not about to get anywhere near Kakariko to come face to face with any of Gannondorf's minions or monsters. At a complete loss as to what to do, Dark sat down on the low wall at the top of the ledge and stared off towards Death Mountain. Before long, Dark noticed a plume of smoke start to rise from the vicinity of Kakariko Village, and he smiled to himself that he had chosen not to go there.

After a few minutes of watching the cloud of smoke grow and spread Dark was startled by Epona whinnying, and he jumped to his feet, his hand on the hilt of his sword. After a quick scan of the surrounding area, including the sky, he relaxed and walked over to look down at the horse. Epona seemed to be watching the valley from which the Zora's River flowed, but he didn't see anything there. Moments later, movement on the other side of the outcrop of rock caught his eye, and he quickly saw that it was Link, running towards the stairs to Kakariko.

"Why that sneaky... how'd he get to the Zora's domain? That's a dead end up there. Lucky though, any sooner and he would have had a battle on his hands." Dark mused to himself. "It seems to be my lucky day too, I'll let Link handle whatever Gannondorf did before I go." Link disappeared up the stairs and Dark slowly turned around in a circle, looking for a good place to bide his time, and his attention was drawn to the high walls of Lon Lon Ranch. He'd never been there himself, but he'd overheard Gannondorf talking about the ranch, and that they kept many horses at the ranch. Dark smiled at the thought of getting a better horse than Link's stubborn animal, and decided to pay Lon Lon Ranch a visit. After quickly glancing back at the broken drawbridge then the remains of the towers in castle town, Dark went back to Epona, and within moments was on his way to the ranch.

Dark slowed the horse to a trot as they reached the entrance, then made Epona walk past the ranch house and the stables. Dark glanced down at a man standing at the edge of the field, thinking he seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place him, and quickly shrugged it off. Quickly, he noticed a young woman with long red hair standing at the gate in the fence in the center of the ranch. The girl was shielding her eyes against the sun, trying to get a good look at him. It appeared as though she nearly called out to him, but then changed her mind.

"Who are you and what are you doing with that horse?!" The girl demanded, her demeanor as fiery as her hair. Dark was caught off guard, he had not expected having to introduce himself. He couldn't very well announce that he was an incarnation of the Hero of Time from the Dark Realm, so he decided to try and dodge the introduction.

"I'm a friend of Link's. He asked me to take care of his horse." Dark stated cooly, staring at the girl.

"You look more like one of Gannondorf's flunkies to me." The venom in her voice told of her distain for the King of Evil.

"Maybe." Dark smirked as he dismounted, and stood face to face with the girl. "But I hate him as much as you do, if not more." He watched her as she looked him over, deciding if she believed him. "Don't believe me? Here," Dark said, tugging on the collar of the white shirt beneath his tunic, revealing bruises on his pale skin. "made by HIS hand." The girl's eyes went wide, seemingly feeling sorry for the young man before her. "Now, let's get down to business. Link's horse here doesn't like me one bit, but I promised him I'd keep her safe. So, I'd like to leave her in your care, and hopefully leave with a horse that will cooperate with me." Dark did his best to flash her a charming smile, and she looked at him for a few moments before speaking.

"I'd be happy to let Epona stay here, as long as the Fairy Boy needs. And if you really are a friend of his, maybe we can make a deal. I'm Malon." The girl said with a smile.

"You can call me Dark. How many rupees will I need to get a horse?" He smiled, eager to make a deal to get a horse that would cooperate with him.

"Okay, Dark. Our horses aren't exactly for sale to just anyone. But if you can find a horse on this ranch that likes you, and you can beat the record time for two laps around the track along the fence, then maybe we'll talk money." Malon smiled and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"That sounds fairly easy, it's a deal." Dark's smile turned into more of a smirk, but was met with a smirk from Malon.

"The old record was fifty seconds, and it took a long time for anyone to beat it. The fairy boy holds the new record of forty-six seconds." Dark just stared at her for a moment, then nodded and went to find a horse that he could get along with.

Initially unimpressed with the other horses at the ranch, he was nearly about to give up when he noticed a sleek, somewhat lighter colored young stallion galloping around the perimeter of the ranch. Dark stood and stared at the horse, awed by it's graceful movements. As the horse he'd been watching trotted back in through the gate, Dark strode towards him. The stallion noticed him and stopped, allowed Dark to approach, then permitted the young man to greet him.

"Hey there. You're my kind of horse. Will you let me ride you?" Dark asked, stroking the horse's left flank. The stallion didn't make a move, but stared at Dark with it's large brown eyes. "Is that a yes?" The horse just kept staring at Dark in anticipation, and Dark smiled. The stallion was not saddled, but Dark was eager to go to Kakariko, so he mounted the horse bareback, and put his fingers in the thick black mane.

"Are you sure you want THAT horse? He's more of a troublemaker than Epona." Malon said as Dark returned on horseback.

"I'm sure. Does he have a name?" Dark inquired, hoping it wasn't a stupid name.

"Arawn." Malon replied simply. "Don't you want a saddle? Or are you ready to try and beat the record?"

"I don't need a saddle. Is there anything I should know about the track?" Dark didn't want any surprises, so he wasn't going to attempt to beat the record before he knew what he was dealing with.

"There's a series of fences around the track that you have to jump. If you skip one, you'll have to start over." The red-head explained, and Dark nodded.

"Okay, I think I'm ready." A smile crept across his face as he got ready to meet the challenge head on. Arawn seemed to understand what was going on, the horse got excited as Dark directed him to stand behind the chalk line in the dirt.

"Forty-five seconds for two laps and we'll talk about a price." Malon told him again as she moved inside the fence so as not to get trampled. "Ready, set, GO!" Malon shouted the last word.

"Ha!" Dark cried out and Arawn burst forward from the line. Dark was leaning forward to encourage the horse to run as fast as he could. The first few jumps were low fences that Dark and Arawn cleared easily, but when he saw a slightly higher fence coming up he gave the horse another spur and they cleared it easily. Through the high fence he could see a much higher fence, and he spurred the horse to go the fastest he possibly could, and it seemed forever before Dark felt Arawn's hooves hit the ground again.

Dark didn't pay any attention to Malon as they passed the line the first time, he was absolutely focused on beating Link's record. Arawn slowed a bit, and Dark let him have a moment as they dealt with the small fences before he spurred the horse on again to jump the two taller fences. Dark had not spurred Arawn as hard the second time he approached the last, and tallest jump, but instead spurred him to keep his speed in the last stretch of the track. After Arawn slowed and Dark turned him around to go back to Malon, Dark learned that his last second move had paid off.

"Forty-four seconds, Congratulations." Malon said happily as Dark dismounted.

"So, how much?" Dark asked flatly, getting down to business.

"How much do you have?" Malon folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side.

"I have this." Dark reached down into his shirt and pulled out a strange looking pendant with a bright greenish blue stone set in silver. There was an intricate sunken design in the silver with squared lines doubling in on themselves and circling other squares. The raised parts of the silver shone brightly, but the inset lines were a dark black, making the strange design all the more apparent. Dark frowned when he saw the look of dismay on the girl's face.

"Is it not enough? I have rupees if this doesn't cover it." Dark pulled the chain off over his head, then began to reach for his wallet.

"No, I can't accept that. My father would be upset because I'd never let him sell it off for anything. Keep it." Malon confessed, and Dark slipped the chain back over his head, not bothering to put the pendant back beneath his shirt.

"Besides that, I have five hundred rupees, will that be enough?" Dark was growing impatient, and was ready to hand over whatever she asked so he could be on his way. It was only a matter of time before Gannondorf figured out that Link was still alive, and would want revenge for Dark's betrayal. If he wanted to do anything with his free time, he had to hurry.

"That should be enough." The girl smiled, perhaps sensing Dark's impatience. Dark quickly pulled out the leather pouch that held his rupees, and handed the shining gems over to Malon. The girl smiled at him, and he returned the smile before he turned on his heel and headed back to Arawn. After he mounted the horse, Dark waved without looking back, already on his way out of the ranch.

When he reached the field, he first nervously glanced towards the old castle town, frightened that Gannondorf already knew of his treachery, and would have his minions waiting for him. There were, however, no minions waiting for him, he was safe for the moment. Dark turned his gaze towards Kakariko and noticed that there was no longer a plume of smoke rising from the village, and the smoke that had been there was already dissipating as it was blown by the wind. It seemed safe enough to go to Kakariko now, so he gave Arawn a light spur, and they galloped towards the passageway into the mountainous village.

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**Author Note:** Yes, I gave Dark his own horse... so sue me. I couldn't work with him and Epona, so I gave him his own horse. I still have a sour feeling over how easily (and cheaply) he got Arawn, but remember, the horse was a trouble maker. (NO! I did NOT name his Horse after Arwen, the elf from LotR! see the note below)

**On the name of his horse: When I went to name Dark's horse, it couldn't be just anything... Epona is the name of a Celtic Goddess (of the moon I think) and is associated with a horse... so I needed something equally significant for the name of Dark's horse. As I looked into Celtic myths, I found one in particular about the god of the underworld, named Arawn, who rode a pale horse. I thought, hey, a dark figure riding a pale horse, Link is a light figure riding a darker horse... why not reverse the roles? so Dark ended up with a pale horse named Arawn.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author's Notes:** Some comedy in this chapter... as well as some darkness... I like the first part, even if it was difficult to write... Shiek is SO stuffy! GAH! But I like the way it came out... and please don't say it's not Cannon, it's not exactly to the game, I know, but in the Ocarina of Time manga, Shiek actually _works _for Gannondorf to hide right under his nose, and to spy on what he's doing. So yes, this is VERY cannon for Dark and Shiek to recognize each other as Gannondorf's minions.

* * *

When he reached the stairs he dismounted as quickly as he could and hurried up the stairs, wanting to run, but not wanting to be exhausted when he reached the top. The sky darkened with rain clouds as Dark rounded the corner and nearly collided with a lone Shiekah descending the stairs, but managed to stop dead in his tracks mere inches from the other. The race of the person before him startled him more than anything, until he realized he knew who it was. His heart then skipped a beat, he was as good as caught if he slipped up now. Standing eye to eye with him on the next step up was the young man known as Shiek. They'd never been formally introduced, but Dark had seen him coming and going from Gannondorf's tower many times before he'd been forcefully taken to the Water Temple.

Sheik's vivid red eyes were wide and despite most his face being covered, Dark could tell he wore an expression of surprise much like his own. Both of them had been caught off guard by their near collision, and they silently stood face to face for a moment before Dark managed to shake it off and took a step backwards.

"You must be Link's dark counterpart summoned from the Dark Realm." Shiek stated bluntly. His voice was muffled by the ragged white cloth that hid his face, and Dark thought his voice was rather high for a man.

"That's right. But you'd better call me 'Dark' unless you're looking for a fight." Dark nearly growled, but relaxed slightly when Shiek nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "And you must be Shiek." There was a hint of venom in his words as he stared at the man before him.

"You are correct. I heard you were supposed to kill Link and failed, and now you have one more chance before Gannondorf kills you himself." Dark felt the mocking in Shiek's voice, and the distain for him in his words was uncalled for. He tried to stay calm, knowing Shiek was just trying to make him angry.

"I hear that Gannondorf doesn't trust you at all. That you might actually be helping Link." Shiek's eyes widened slightly, and Dark knew what he'd just said had had some level of truth to warrant such a reaction. "You are helping him, aren't you?" Dark exclaimed, he had been so frightened that Shiek was going to catch him that he had never dreamed he would be the one doing the catching, and he ended up bursting out with laughter. It only took a moment for the blond man to regain his composure, but it was already too late.

"I suppose you're going to tell Gannondorf of my treachery then?" Sheik most likely would have spat at him if it weren't for the cloth hiding his face, but merely stared at Dark coldly. Dark stopped laughing, but was still thoroughly enjoying himself, he had Shiek squirming the way he very well could have been at that moment if it had been him to slip up.

"I could. But where would that get me? I'm supposed to be killing a hero, not exposing a traitor." In a way, that comment could have been the undoing of his sudden power, as both of them knew Gannondorf didn't care for his underlings wasting time doing things besides what he had commanded them to do. However, if worse came to worse, he still had the leverage, with the fact that he'd stumbled across Shiek and learned that secret on his way to kill Link, he may not have to worry about any repercussions. Except, therein lay the catch, Shiek was helping Link, aiding him in his quest to defeat the evil king, exactly what Dark wanted Link to do. For his own motives, of course, to free Dark from Gannondorf's hold on him, so he could go home, back to the life he'd known before being summoned to this miserable realm.

"Of course, I could ignore it, seeing as how we have a common goal: to see Gannondorf dead, and this Zelda girl on the throne." Dark said, turning and taking a few steps away before turning to look over his shoulder at the mysterious young man on the bottom step, watching his reaction.

"Why is it you want Gannondorf dead?" Shiek asked calmly.

"Oh, I have my reasons." Dark stated calmly, and decided to continue when he saw Shiek raise and eyebrow. "For starters, he summoned me against my will to serve him as just another obstacle in Link's way. I have been beaten, battered, whipped, and choked, all for his cruel amusement. I just want this to be over. One way, or another, Gannondorf is going to die." When he was finished speaking, he turned around again, and walked up the stairs, brushing past Shiek without so much as a glance at him. Shiek turned and watched Dark until he reached the top of the stairs, then went on his way.

Light drops of water began to speckle Dark's skin and clothes as he passed under the gateway to the small village. He stopped and looked up towards the sky, letting the cool raindrops hit the skin of his face. It was a wonderful feeling, he had never felt the rain in this world before. Marveling at the experience, he lifted his arms, palms up, and walked carefree, enjoying the feeling as the rain grew harder. Dark jumped suddenly as he stepped on something soft and heard a terrible squawking sound beneath him. Quickly he looked down to see a cucco flapping it's white wings angrily, which then quickly began pecking at his leg.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Dark said, trying to shoo the bird with his foot, but it would not stop trying to peck him. "Alright, I'm sorry I stepped on you, just get off!" Dark began to grow angry, and tried to push the bird away again, but it wouldn't leave him alone. Growing frustrated he kicked at the bird, not trying to hurt it, but meaning to scare it off. His foot connected with the cucco's wing and it let out another squawk and angrily started flying up, trying to peck at his face, and suddenly a number of cuccos all came flying at him from different directions, pecking furiously at his clothes, some even broke his skin. Dark drew his sword and tried to swipe at them but it was no use, and only made them angrier. He put his sword away and decided to try and outrun them, making a break for the center of the village, batting them away with one arm while covering his face as best he could with the other as he ran.

Suddenly he felt a gloved hand grab his wrist and he was pulled to the side, towards one of the houses. He wanted to see the person leading him, but he didn't dare give the ferocious birds a chance to peck his eyes out, and he let himself be led through a door. When he stepped through the door the other let him go and slammed the door behind them.

"Sorry Ms, my brother's never dealt with cuccos before." Dark heard Link say, and he put his arm down to see the young blonde man again, this time wearing a green tunic. He looked around the room to see two heavy set women, both in their 40's. One woman was wearing a bright red top and dark blue skirt, the other a solid pale blue dress.

"Sorry for the intrusion. I didn't know they had such tempers." Dark smiled and shrugged it off as best he could.

"It's alright dear, those birds can just be a little unpleasant sometimes." The woman in the red and blue assured him as she left the large black cauldron to retrieve some bowls. Both of them were offered a bowl of stew, Link turned it down, but Dark accepted, thanking the woman politely before devouring it hungrily. Eventually the angry clucking of the birds outside quieted and ultimately stopped as Dark finished off the bowl and handed it back to the kind woman, thanking her again before both of them ventured outside.

"You really should watch your step you know." Link remarked as they stepped out into the light rain.

"You saw that then?" Dark inquired sheepishly, embarrassed that he'd been saved by the Hero of Time. No, not saved from your average monster, saved from the deadly Hylan cuccos. This was something that he'd never live down. Link nodded and smiled, regarding the man before him as though he was an oddity.

"What? I've been locked up in that stupid temple for who knows how long, and before that I was locked up in Gannondorf's tower, I can barely remember the last time I felt rain! You can't blame me for wanting to enjoy it a little." Dark exclaimed defensively, making a bit of a scene in the quiet village. Link watched him for a moment, slowly shaking his head as his smile grew. Dark noticed this and narrowed his eyes at him.

"And your manners..." Link started, but Dark cut him off.

"What about them? I said 'thank you' I'm not a barbarian. I told you Gannondorf summoned me from my realm, we have manners there too you know! We're not monsters!" Dark raised his voice, angered by Link's implied comment.

"Sorry, you just don't seem like the kind of person who would have been so nice to her." Link explained, but Dark scoffed at him and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not from Darkness, I'm from Shadow, there's a big difference! And I'm sick and tired of people thinking otherwise." Dark nearly growled in anger, but Link put his hands up in defeat.

"Alright then, I'm sorry. I didn't know they were different."

"Well they are. Shadow is a contradiction to Light, Darkness is against everything. Look at the ground, even with the clouds you see your shadow right? Because it's still light out, like I said before, shadows exists because there's light. It's like night and day. Both exist next to the other in peaceful balance. But Darkness is in someone's heart, when they turn against the world. So you see, there is a difference, Shadow is everywhere there is Light, Darkness is the evil of men." Link nodded slowly, taking in what was told to him. Dark turned, and started to walk away, headed to try and find a the graveyard.

"Then what should I call you? Do you have names in the shadow realm?" Link asked in all sincerity. Dark stopped and sighed, and thought about his answer for a moment before speaking

"Just call me 'Dark', it's what I've come to be known as here anyways. And yes, we do have names where I come from, but I don't care to tell you mine right now." With that Dark continued to walk away. As he reached the top of a small flight of stairs that led to a well, he turned and looked back to see Link running towards the stairs where he'd met Shiek.

* * *

**Author Note: **I LOVE Hylan Cuccos! They are SO fun to torment!!!!! I love to ride Epona to the ranch, gallop her through the cuccos, and let them chase me... because they can't hurt you whilst mounted upon Epona. Yeah, needless to say I've spent hours on end tormenting the cuccos... I HAD to include them!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author Note:** Not much to say... just had to move the story along in the first bit... I do like the bit with Dark and the Cucco lady... that was fun to write. And the first half, before Link comes back was trying to hint at just who Dark is. There have been a few hints so far, but nothing serious... I'm not fond of the notion that he's some sort of ethereal being... so i want him to have a sense of being something more. Yeah. Then I just had fun with Link later in the chapter.

* * *

When Link was gone Dark wandered past the well, glancing up at the large windmill quickly, watching out for more cuccos in his way. He noticed a quiet path that seemed to leave the village. A sign sat amidst overgrown grass, nearly hidden after years of neglect. Dark glanced over at a woman with red hair standing by a fenced in livestock pen. She was nervously glancing at him over her shoulder, watching him carefully. Then again, every villager here had a reason to be wary of warriors clad all in black, Gannondorf had just seen to that. Ignoring the glare from the woman, Dark walked over to the sign, pushing away the grass to read the carved in words. He had a bit of difficulty with the sign, some of the characters were different from what he was used to, but he managed to make out that it said 'Kakariko Graveyard'

"Excellent, just what I was looking for." Dark mumbled under his breath, trying to avoid drawing more attention to himself than he already had. As he was about to start down the small path he suddenly thought better of it, and turned to stare coldly at the woman by the fence. Frightened, she slowly started to put some distance between herself and the dark swordsman, before turning and hurrying away. Admittedly, he thought it would have been fun to start using one of his shadow tricks, to have slowly melted into the shadows like an apparition just to frighten the poor woman. However, Link had been kind and cruel enough to give him a shred of credibility by claiming he was his brother to the woman in the house. Dark wasn't about to ruin his ability to move about as freely as possible for a quick malicious joke.

When the woman was gone he walked down the path to the graveyard. As he emerged from the narrow path, he felt the presence of kindred spirits. The sensation sent a shiver down his spine as he continued under the entranceway and stood amidst the graves. His eyes fixed on a fenced off ledge across the hallowed ground overlooking the small cemetery. There was nothing interesting about the ledge, but the source of the shadow presence lay behind it, set into the earth, hidden from curious eyes. Respectfully, he quietly made his way to the rear of the graveyard, doing his best to avoid the odd lanterns seemingly abandoned on the ground. Or, anyone else would have seen them as mere lanterns left sitting on the ground. Dark could see the forlorn souls that waited for careless individuals to blunder too close. They were terrible to behold, slender figures wrapped in ragged death shrouds, hunched over their lanterns, heads bowed in reverence as they stared at their headstones, contemplating their past lives, and their deaths. It was obvious that these souls wanted to move on, they desired release, but the darkness had a strong grip on them. Gannondorf, the King of Evil, would not allow them to cross over, instead he held them there with his power, angering them enough to attack anyone stupid enough to wanter too close.

Behind what at a glance appeared to be a royal tomb, Dark stood, staring up at the ledge above him, and at the fence blocking it off. There was no question, the presence he felt was that of shadow, he had indeed found the Shadow Temple. For a moment, he thought of going to find Link, to tell him he knew where the temple was, but undoubtedly, Shiek had already told him. A thought entered his mind, perhaps there was someone else summoned from the shadow realm trapped inside the way he had been in the water temple. Or possibly a clue to finding a way home. Without another thought, Dark sunk into the shadows cast by the darkening rain clouds and emerged again on top of the ledge. There was a strange, flat, solid stone dais with unusual markings in the center of the ledge. It was very similar to one he'd seen but not paid much attention to on the island atop the water temple where he'd spoken to Link. However, this time it caught his attention as he wondered what it's significance was.

Quickly realizing he was wasting time, he looked past the stone at a tunnel carved into the rock. The shadow presence he felt was emanating from the tunnel, and Dark was willingly drawn into it. He cautiously scanned the walls of the tunnel as he walked down the somewhat steep grade until he came to a place where it opened up into a large chamber. There was a short brick pillar in the center, encircled by unlit ceremonial torches, and the symbol of the Shiekah people was carved into the far wall. For a moment he was disappointed, having hoped there was more to the temple when he had a thought. As he made his way across the room, ducking between the torches, the presence grew stronger the closer he got to the rear wall with the carving. Dark laid his hand against the cool stone, and suddenly felt a painful, stinging jolt run through his hand and the muscles in his arm instantly tensed before he could pull his hand away. A strange prickling sensation ran up and down his arm for a long while as he rubbed it, realizing it was a light barrier to block off the shadow temple from preventing any shadow beings from entering, or perhaps, more likely from escaping.

Dark would not back down so easily, and he was made more determined to enter when he felt an increasing presence of darkness mingling with the shadows behind the barrier wall. Not deterred by the physical barrier, Dark decided to try traveling through the shadows to get to the other side. Focusing more concentration on his little trick than normal, he slipped into the deep shadows and attempted to pass the barrier, but was quickly rejected and knocked backwards, and back into physical form. His entire body tingled and all his muscles tightened the same way his arm had before, and he waited a moment for it to pass before getting back up.

As he stood staring at the wall, completely at a loss as to how to get through to the temple on the other side, he heard a strange sound. He had no way to describe the sound that drifted down the tunnel from the ledge above the graveyard, but the sounds that followed it were clearly footsteps in the grass, then the dirt floor of the tunnel. Unsure of who it could possibly be coming down to the shadow temple, Dark faded into the shadows the way he had hidden himself from Link before. He silently made his way to the corner to the side of the tunnel, ready to take whoever it was from behind, or make his own escape if necessary.

Much to his relief, it was Link who cautiously entered the strange room. Instead of approaching him, he decided he'd wait to see how long it would take Link to realize he was there. Link did much the same thing Dark had just done, he made his way between the torches, and went to take a closer look at the wall. However, instead of being repelled the way Dark had, Link was able to place his hand on the wall. Dark watched as Link ran his hand across it a little ways, as if looking for some sort of hidden switch, but came up with nothing. As Link turned to look around the rest of the room Dark let himself appear out of the shadows. Link was briefly startled, perhaps reliving the moment he'd seen him in the water temple, and he began to reach for his sword. Dark began to walk through the torches towards Link with his arms down at his sides, chuckling to himself at the look of fear fading from the hero's blue eyes, and Link relaxed a bit and put his hand down.

"Don't scare me like that! It's rude!" Link breathed a sigh of relief as Dark stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Come now, it's funny when you jump like that." Dark smiled almost devilishly, and Link narrowed his eyes at him. "So, how are we supposed to get past this thing?" Dark pondered, changing the subject. Link shook his head at the other, then took a long look around the room.

"It's simple, all of the torches have to be lit." Link said after only a moment of thought, then paused for a moment, assessing the situation, considering there was only one lit torch. "It would take too long to light them one by one, and I can't waste that many arrows." Dark nearly opened his mouth to ask how Link could possibly light all the torches at once, but the vision of a wall of flames spreading out in every direction grew in his mind. It had been the attack Link had used that had been Dark's undoing in their battle in the Water Temple.

Without a word, Link began to make his way to the small circular platform in the center of the torches, and Dark hurried to the opposite side of the room, and retreated back up the tunnel, far out of the reach of the expanding flames. There was a sudden light and the roar of fire as the flames expanded within the room below, and dissipated as they reached the tunnel. As Dark came back into the room of torches, there was the sound of the flickering flames, and a new light in the room. moments later there was a deep rumbling, and the sound of gears that shook the entire structure, and caused dirt and skulltula webs to fall from the ceiling as the great barrier wall slowly began to sink into the ground, revealing a stone passageway leading further into the earth.

"I knew it." Link mumbled as the rumbling stopped, and Dark stood in awe at what had just taken place.

"How did you figure that out so fast?" Dark asked, amazed at Link for solving it so fast.

"Easy, this is the fourth temple I've had to enter, I've seen this kind of puzzle before." Link shrugged it off. Dark stood there dumbfounded, and here he'd thought Link was beyond smart, when in fact he was just experienced.

"You do know I'm coming with you right? There's no way I'm staying here. Not with that presence in the temple!" Dark exclaimed as Link started to continue into the stone passage. Link suddenly stopped and turned to stare at Dark.

"What presence? Do you know something that's in there?" Link questioned eagerly, hoping to get a jump on any enemies waiting for him.

"Nothing I recognize, but there's a strong presence of Shadow here. Maybe someone else from my realm, or something that might help me get back there." Dark admitted, and Link turned to continue into the temple. Dark followed behind the hero, keeping pace with him, but letting him go first, to spring any traps or attacks.

However, as the corridor made a sharp turn, Dark glimpsed a large gap that Link did not seem to notice. Dark sprinted a few steps to catch up and grabbed Link's arm, shifting his weight backwards suddenly, pulling him back roughly just as his foot stepped over the ledge to find nothing but air and darkness. Link was thrown off balance by his misstep, and the tug from Dark, in his confusion, he turned and grabbed on to Dark. Link fell forward, and caused Dark to loose balance as well. Dark went backwards and hit the cold flagstones hard. He let out a small cry of surprise as Link landed on top of him, nearly knocking the wind out of him. The two were too shocked to move for a moment, but Dark soon regained his composure, and looked at the young blonde who was turning red in the face as he hurriedly clambered up to his knees.

"You should really watch where you're going." Dark snickered, amused that the roles had been reversed. He wanted to lay still for a moment, to bask in the moment, especially after his embarrassment with the cuccos. Unfortunately the shield that was slung across his back was very uncomfortable, so he quickly sat up, once again coming face to face with Link. He stared into the other's bright blue eyes for a moment, catching a slight hint of fear in their depths. "And that hurt, you know!" Dark scolded, referring to the fall Link had inadvertently caused.

"Thanks for breaking my fall." Link replied quietly, almost guiltily, as he averted his gaze in embarrassment, and shifted so he was sitting on his feet, ready to stand up. The corner of Dark's lips raised a bit in a small smile at Link's behavior, but then he put a hand on Link's shoulder, as if to lift the hero's spirits. Much to the other's surprise, Dark pushed his hand into Link's shoulder and sent the blonde backwards, causing him to loose his already precarious balance. There was a small thud as Link ended up on his rear, and Dark chuckled slightly as he stood up and offered his hand to Link.

The blonde man did not take Dark's hand, but climbed to his feet on his own, then coldly turned his back on him. Dark nearly pouted as he watched Link pull out an unusual tool. It seemed to have three parts to it, a grip with a trigger, a blue casing, and a large arrow shaped hook. Link aimed it carefully, then used the trigger and the hook shot out, trailing a chain. There was the sound of metal sinking into the wood of a target on the other side of the gap, and Link reversed the trigger. The chain quickly retracted, pulling him across the gap. As Link began to climb up, Dark moved back away from the edge, and around the corner.

He knew he couldn't travel through shadows on walls, and there was no way he could make the jump. The presence he felt inside the temple was too significant to just walk away, so he was about to make a gamble he was hoping he wouldn't regret. Slowly taking a few deep breaths, Dark began to run alongside the wall on his left hand side, then angled towards the spot the edge of the floor met the left wall. Dark started to fade into the shadows as he reached the wall, which he easily ran up. His diminished weight in shadow form combined with his momentum was just enough to get him nearly to the other side. As he started to loose height on the wall he came out of shadow form and kicked off the wall in time to grab onto the ledge. Dark let out an 'oof' as his body slammed into the stone side of the pit, but he held on tight. Much to his luck, Link had turned around as he stood up, just in time to see Dark's stunt and near fall, and quickly hurried to help Dark up by taking his hand. Doing most of the work himself, but letting Link be his lifeline, Dark carefully pulled himself up, and out of his precarious position. Slightly shaken from the close call, Dark took the time to get away from the edge before he stood up, feeling a slight vertigo even from the distance of about five feet.

Link did not give the chasm a second thought, and began to continue down the corridor without Dark. When Dark realized he was being left behind, he hurried to catch up to the blonde. Just as he got close, Link slowed his steps, and began to look around as if confused, then stopped in his tracks completely. Dark didn't see anything wrong, and continued walking, not about to let Link slow him down from reaching his goal of locating the presence of shadow.

"Wait! But that's..." Link started, then his voice petered off in shock, "a wall..." Dark turned around to ask Link what in the world he was talking about, and saw Link standing there completely dumbfounded, staring off into the empty space directly in front of him. It seemed as though Link could not see him standing there. Dark took a few steps back towards Link, and it was as though Link had seen him appear suddenly.

"What are you talking about? A wall?" Dark questioned, but Link stood there, the confused look still on his face.

"Can you pass through walls with that shadow trick thing of yours?" Link asked, in all seriousness.

"No, I can only move through shadows, and usually only on the ground." Dark replied, giving Link a questioning look.

"Are you sure? There's a wall behind you, I just saw you walk through it like it wasn't there." Link explained, and Dark began to wonder if Link had lost his mind.

"There's no wall there, you must be seeing things." Dark scoffed, then started laughing as he turned around and continued into the temple. Link lunged forward to grab hold of Dark's wrist, then let out a gasp. Dark ignored Link as the hero stumbled forward another step, then stopped in his tracks, shuddering as though he'd seen something. Suddenly curious as to what was actually going on, Dark stopped and turned his head a bit to watch Link out of the corner of his eye. After a moment of shock, Link took a few hurried steps forward, turning to look back at the same time, so surprised that he tripped over his own feet and fell backwards.

"B- But... t-there's a wall there!" Link cried out in shock, shaking his head, trying to get a grip on what had actually happened. Dark turned to face Link, then it occurred to him that perhaps Link really did see a wall there, and had just unwittingly passed through it trying to stop him from leaving without him. Suddenly it dawned on him, it was an illusion! It was a challenge to be overcome in the temple, and had been meant to make people turn around and leave, seeking another entrance, only to come up empty-handed.

"It's not there Link, it's just an illusion. I can't even see it." Dark announced in a firm voice, bringing Link back to the moment. Link shook his head, trying to shake off what must have been an odd experience at the very least, having walked through what he thought was a wall.

"An illusion?" Link asked, more to himself than to Dark. "An illusion." He whispered, thinking something to himself. Dark stood quietly and watched Link as he stood back up and slowly approached the spot where the illusionary wall must have been. Cautiously Link raised his hand, and tried to touch the illusionary wall, and shuddered slightly, seemingly at the moment his hand passed through it. Dark didn't want to waste any more time on the illusion, and began to look around the room they were in.

In the center there was a strange statue of a hideous looking bird surrounded by a number of posts. One of the posts had a skull sitting atop it, and Dark figured that must have been the trick to it, and that perhaps the skull was hidden to any normal person. Past the statue and posts there was another gap that spanned the entire far side of the room. On the other side of the gap there was a disturbing stone statue of a toad-like monster's head protruding from the wall. On the far wall there was a plaque with an inscription Dark could not read from there, and on either side of the other corner, were two carvings that resembled the statue.

"This is what Hylans think shadows are like? You people are twisted to even come up with such ideas." Dark remarked with a shudder, a cold chill passing over him. He rubbed his arms to chase away the chill as he looked around the room one more time before looking back at Link. The young blonde man had a strange purple looking glass in his hand, the shape of which looked identical to the crest of the Shiekah which had been on the stone barrier, and had been worn by Shiek. Dark was curious what it's power was, and quickly snuck up behind Link, and looked through the glass over Link's shoulder.

The glass reveled the illusion to Dark, who was of the shadows himself, but must have revealed the truth to Link, who was of the light. Through the glass Dark could clearly see the wall that had startled Link so badly. Link quickly put the glass away, then turned his face to Dark, who had put his hands on the hero's arms, and rested his chin on Link's right shoulder too peer into the looking glass as well. Dark saw Link's movement, and felt the other's sunny blonde hair brush his cheek, then felt it mingle with his own midnight black hair. Slightly turning to Link, their eyes met, and he could hear Link breathing in the silence. Without a word Link stepped away from Dark and looked around the room himself. Dark watched the hero as he moved over to the statue, his fairy partner that had been kind enough to give him the edge in their battle earlier showed herself for the first time since Link had asked her not to help in their battle. The fairy Link had earlier called Navi flew over to an inscription on the wall, glowing a bright green. Link noticed her and went over to look at an inscription on the wall.

"Which one is the real skull?" Link asked, looking around at the posts. So that was it, the illusion wasn't hiding the one skull, it was causing Link to see a skull atop each post. "You can see through the illusions, which is the real skull?"

"Can't you use your little looking glass thing?" Dark asked unenthusiastically, leaning against the real wall with his arms folded in front of his chest.

"It takes magic to activate it. I don't know what else is in this temple, and I might need all the magic I have later on." Link explained, his eyes begging Dark to cooperate. With a heavy sigh Dark left his spot on the wall and went to lean on the post with the skull sitting on top of it. Link smiled and nodded before pushing on part of the statue, causing it to turn. He turned the statue of the bird until it was looking at the post on which Dark was leaning, and suddenly there was another deep rumbling, and the mouth of the strange statue on the wall across the gap began to move, revealing a door nestled in what would be the creature's throat. Dark shuddered at the imagery of having to walk down into the gullet of a monster to go deeper into the temple.

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**Author Note:** Didn't I tell you the chapters would get longer? Still not quite what I've been reading in the other stories here... but I find what stopping places I can. Yay for sad puppy face Link!!!! That was fun to write! Reviews are nice, I know I forgot to ask for them the last few chapters, but I'm doing disclaimers and notes for 7 chapters all at once, because that's what I uploaded all at once... and this being Chapter 6, I'm getting close to the last of what I've written for this, so I'm gonna ask for reviews now. I want to know what you think of the story so far, let me know if you like it, and maybe I might find my way back to being able to continue writing this...


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.

**Author Notes:** This was a bit painful to write, just trying to get them to continue on with their exploration when Dark's being such a pain in the neck... but that's Dark for you! And to you fangirls, you're welcome for the slight tension in the last chapter...

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To his surprise, Link sighed, and began to look around the room again, and for a moment Dark wondered why. However, one look at the large gap between the edge and the small ledge created by the statue on the other side, and Dark knew there had to be more pieces to the puzzle. Feeling Link's eyes on him finally, he looked at the hero to see his large blue eyes staring at him expectantly. Short of making a face like that of a sad puppy, Link's eyes begged Dark to once more help him avoid using his magic. Dark narrowed his eyes at him, getting tired of being Link's personal guide, but when the other nearly began to plead with him, he sighed and looked around.

"So much for illusions, these brick walls hide passages pretty well on their own." Dark remarked, having seen a new way to go. In the far corner he'd noticed a passageway that was so well disguised by the brick of the wall that he'd looked right at it the first time and hadn't even seen it was there. Still with his arms folded across his chest, he pushed himself away from the post he'd been leaning against, and made his way to the passageway. "Say Link, what do you see here?"

"A carving, like the ones on either side of it." Link reported, he'd followed behind Dark, waiting to see what he would do.

"Well, I see a passageway, about as wide as the other wall carvings." Dark explained, then continued into the stone-lined tunnel. Link had no choice but to follow Dark's lead, and Dark looked back slightly to watch him. Link shuddered as he moved into the passage, and Dark knew he was still unsettled by walking through a wall, but at least it wasn't the same reaction as before.

At the end of the passageway, they stepped into an earthen catacomb, with corners headed in the same direction on either side. There were Hylan bones, including skulls sunken into the dirt walls, black sockets staring back emptily. Dark was once again unsettled by the strange vision Hylans seemed to have of shadows. Not sure which way to go, Dark turned to his left, and cautiously looked around the corner. There was another short earthen corridor, turning right at the end, again lined with bones. Link had in turn gone right, the two of them continuing down their respective hallways. Turning the corner at the end they met up again near a door in the middle of the corridor on the far side of where they had entered. It was just a big square.

"I don't get it. What's the point of this room? No enemies, no way forward, just these bones." Link asked, completely baffled. Dark had a thought, had Link just said there was no way forward?

"What do you see here?" Dark asked, pointing to the door.

"Just another wall of bones. I've never seen a room like this in a temple before." The happiness in the blond's voice was fading, and there was confusion in his eyes.

"Another illusion, it's a door." At this the hero perked a bit, a light coming back into his blue eyes. "But wait, first, I have a hunch." With that, Dark walked past Link and down the way the other had come. Sure enough, tucked between the strange identical sections, stood a door. "I knew it! Link! There's a door here!" Dark called out, but as he turned he lowered his voice, realizing Link had followed him.

"You should probably stay behind here. I have a bad feeling about what's beyond here." Link announced, shuddering as he put his hand out to reach for the handle through the illusion. Dark was about to protest when Link quickly opened the door and slipped in, closing it directly behind him.

"Damn it!" Dark growled when he tried the handle and found it had locked behind Link. "Damn it! I'm not going to be just your guide! You idiot!" Dark shouted, pounding on the door, then promptly gave up with a snort. He stood back and folded his arms, waiting for Link to return so he could give him a piece of his mind. Minutes passed, and Dark began to pace, wondering what was taking so long. He glanced at the skulls as he paced, and in the darkness, their eyes almost seemed to glow pale blue, as if watching him in his impatience. Suddenly he heard the door open and whipped around to see Link come out holding a small object.

"You! I am not going to be your guide, then just stand around while you..." Dark's voice trailed off for a moment, there was a cut on Link's cheek, a stream of blood slowly trickling down his skin. "You're bleeding."

"Hm?" Link touched his fingers to his cheek, then looked at the blood on the tips. "Oh, I guess I am..." Link looked back at Dark and smiled. "Don't worry, it's just a scratch. You got me worse than that when we fought."

"Yeah, I suppose I did." Dark mused, forgetting his angry words, and stepped towards the young blond. He knit his eyebrows as he watched the blood slide down Link's neck. "Here, it's going to stain your white shirt." Dark said as he pulled a piece of cloth from a pocket, wiped at the blood, then pressed the cloth to the wound. Link brought his hand up and pressed his fingers to the cloth, taking over as Dark removed his own hand.

"So, what did you find?" Dark asked, gesturing to the small object in Link's hand. Link held it up to examine it himself, then held it out to show Dark. Inside the small blue casing was a red and white needle spinning as Link moved his hand.

"It's a compass, but it's not all that helpful until I find a map. It does help in a room like that one where we fought, when it's it's kinda easy to get turned around and loose track of which door you came in through." Link explained.

"Yeah, that's obvious. So let's find that map. I don't want to be in here any longer than I have to while you wander around in circles." Dark remarked snidely as he started back towards the door to the next area. As he glanced at the skulls again, he shuddered slightly at the thought of spending any length of time in this strange darkness.

"I thought you should be comfortable here, this is the Shadow Temple, and you said you were from the 'shadow realm' right?" Link asked following behind him. Dark stopped at the door, and sighed, dropping his head a moment before looking back at Link.

"Yes, I'm from a realm of shadows, but this place is nothing like it. You Hylans are so confused when it comes to darkness and shadows. Where I come from is a world in the shadows, yes, but I suppose you could say it has a certain beauty to it. Like the last light of day here, that's what my realm is like. This place is just ugly, and downright creepy." Dark turned back to the door and went through, Link staying still for a moment before following him.

"You mean your world is in twilight all the time?" Link asked.

"Yeah. So let's just get through with this temple so I can go back, alright?" Dark said as he quickly found the next door, in a hallway identical to the last one. Stopping with the door directly to his right, he turned to face Link. "Now that I have your attention, I'm not going to show you where the door is until you promise to let me help you with whatever is on the other side of the door. I'm not going to guide you around this temple without getting to see a little bit of action myself." Dark folded his arms and lowered his head a bit, keeping his eyes on Link's.

"I am the 'Hero of Time', this is my task, and I will do it on my own." Link responded bravely, and Dark mused at the words for a moment. It was indeed a courageous sentiment, but a foolish one. Perhaps the sentiment of one who had received little or no help for a very long time. However, Dark knew how to get Link to rethink his words.

"Alright, Mr. 'Hero of Time' if that's the way it is, then you don't need a guide either," Dark walked past Link, on his way out of the temple. "use your looking glass and use up all your magic looking for doors, and just fall in a hole disguised as solid floor for all I care! Rotting in that hole while Gannondorf finally finds this Princess Zelda of yours, and tightens his grip on this world for good! A lot of good courage will do you when you're all alone in the dark!"

"He's not alone! He has me!" A small voice called out as a small light came into the hall. Dark heard the tinkling of fairy wings as the light grew closer behind him, quickly zooming in front of him.

"Oh, yeah, you've been so quiet I forgot about you. And what good are you going to do him? Can you see through the illusions and warn him?" Dark asked the little ball of light with wings. The light the little fairy gave off was indeed too bright to make out anything about her shape besides the wings.

"No, but I can do other things!" The fairy retorted.

"Can you throw him a rope and pull him out of a hole?" Dark sneered, looking back at Link who was staring off, thinking.

"No." She replied.

"Then what use are you? He's all alone, and he knows it. Just look at him!" Dark gestured towards the young hero. "Oh, and I didn't ever get to thank you..."

"For what? I never did anything for you!" She shot back.

"On the contrary, you told me what Link should do to counter my attacks. It was really helpful." Dark laughed as he started back down the hallway.

"Wait! Dark! Don't go!" Link called out, hurrying after him. "You made your point, please, don't go."

"Ah, I thought so. He knows he's alone, and he could use some help. He just has trouble accepting it gracefully." Dark mused to no one in particular. "Alright, since you put it that way, I guess I'll stick around. Just so long as I get to see some action. I haven't even so much as drawn my sword since we fought you know." Dark said, going back to the door.

"Yes you did! Against the deadly Hylan Cuccos, remember?" Link remarked slyly, and Dark froze in his tracks.

"Hey! That doesn't count!" Dark retorted hotly, whipping around holding up a finger in warning.

"Oh yes it does! Right Navi?" Link smiled as the Fairy flew about near his head.

"Right. It counts!" Navi agreed.

"Alright, if you're going to be like that, find another guide!" Dark crossed his arms and took a step towards the exit.

"No, no, alright it doesn't count." Link conceded, putting his hands up to beg Dark not to go. "I should know... it's happened to me too."

"Really, now that is interesting. The great 'Hero of Time' chased off by a flock of cuccos, now that I would like to see." Dark laughed, finally going back to the door for good this time. He let himself calm down a moment before opening it, and stepping in, Link following right behind him.

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**Author Notes:** Hurray for bickering between Link and Dark Link... you all knew it was going to happen sometime!!! You may not have quite gotten it (maybe you did, I don't know... I hope you did, I tried to make it blatantly obvious) but it's there, a hint about Dark. It's mentioned a few times before that he was summoned there from his world by Gannondorf, but I have a huge hint about his world this chapter... One that goes hand in hand with a hint in what Dark said about shadow, and the pendant he offered to Malon as payment. Congrats if you're hating me right now, you've just figured it out! If not, just give it some time. I don't change much usually, but when I do it's big, but still canon (sorta... canon for the series as a whole, maybe not OoT)


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME

**Author Notes:** Yes, I actually finished the chapter! Yay! that's 8 chapters now! After months of ignoring this, I suddenly finished it... Yay! I had a bit of fun with this one. (of course, i got back to some action and violence, ALRIGHT! Yeah... Enjoy!

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"What in the evil realm?" Dark cursed as they stepped into the room, the door closing behind Link, and heavy iron bars slammed down to block it. A veritable forrest of six foot long arms extended up from the ground in a circle around the center of the room. The skin of each was a pale, dead white with red splotches, the hands reaching to the ceiling were tipped by claw-like nails.

"A 'Dead Hand', crap, I thought I'd seen the last of these." Link remarked in a whisper as Navi flew towards the nearest, her glowing light turning yellow. Dark drew his sword and took a step towards it when he felt Link's hand on his shoulder. "Wait, this isn't the whole monster! I have an idea."

"What do you mean 'this isn't the whole monster'?" Dark asked, also using a whisper.

"It's main body doesn't appear until it grabs something with one of those hands. Then it's head and torso pop up out of the ground to attack you." Link explained.

"So I'll be the bait, let it grab me, I can just use a shadow trick to get out of it's grip, and we'll attack it at the same time." Dark suggested, but Link shook his head.

"I'm whispering so it won't realize there's two of us. It might not show it's body if one of us is moving about freely." Link paused for a moment, and Dark opened his mouth to say something when Link continued. "I can take a lot of damage, you use your shadow trick to move towards the center unnoticed while I let it grab me. Once it comes up out of the ground, let it attack me. It'll let go once it's finished with me, then we'll attack it together."

"But Link, I could attack it before it gets to you, and you won't get hurt." Dark pleaded, looking into those large blue eyes. Link stared back at him, his eyes showing a bit of frustration with Dark's stubbornness.

"No, we'll do it my way, it'll be a better opportunity to attack after it lets me go. Believe me, I've fought one of these before. I had to let it grab me twice last time, I'm hoping to take it out in one try this time." Link said cooly, Dark realized he wasn't the only one here who was beyond stubborn. Dark stared into Link's eyes for a moment, then decided to just go along with the plan, no matter how stupid it sounded to him.

"Alright, your way Mr. Hero. But don't come whining to me about how much it hurts later!" Dark whispered as he quickly faded into the shadows and moved to the center of the circle of arms without so much as a stir of air to give away his presence. Once he was in place, he watched as Link took a deep breath to steel himself and calmly walked within reach of one of the arms. Dark watched in silence as the hand quickly took hold of Link by the head, who, in spite of his calm approach a moment ago, began to struggle, and panic in it's grip.

At his feet Dark felt the ground shift, slightly at first, then it heaved up, the soil breaking apart as a horrid, fetid mass erupted out of the ground. Dark remained in his shadow form, but took a step back as he watched the dirt fall from the grotesque thing that emerged. The thing was covered in the same pale, splotchy skin as the arms surrounding it. In it's gaping maw, large teeth told of what was in store for the blond in green. As the monstrosity ambled closer to the other, it's seething body, and small deformed arm-like limbs looming in his terrified blue eyes, a thought entered Dark's mind.

_'Do nothing, let it kill him, this is your chance to prove your loyalty.'_ Dark's eyes went wide, and he shook his head, shoving the thought out. Could it be that Gannondorf still had some measure of control of him? No! Dark would not be controlled any longer, and he would not let Link think for one moment that he would betray him. However, there was the plan to consider, so despite his better judgement, he waited, his sword held at the ready, for the opportune moment as described by Link.

As the rotting creature closed on Link, Dark shut his eyes tight, cringing as he turned his face away, he could not stand and watch such a horrible thing.

"AAAHHHH!!!" Link cried out in pain as the large teeth sunk into his flesh, and Dark instantly went into action, his sword slicing deep into the thing's flesh. It immediately removed it's teeth from the Hero and began to withdraw. Dark managed three more good hits before it retreated back into the dirt.

"What in the evil realm did you do that for?!" Link cursed at him, still firmly in the grasp of the awful hand.

"I couldn't just stand by and let it feed on you like that! You told me it would attack you, you didn't tell me it was going to make you it's main course!" Dark shouted, his face becoming flush with anger.

"I knew you wouldn't go along with it if I told you. And now look, it's a fine mess you've made now! Now you're going to have to let it grab you so we can finish this. I told you it was my burden for a reason." Link shouted at first, but lowered his voice.

"Sorry I screwed it up, I tried, really, I did, but I couldn't..." Dark paused, sheathing his sword and walking towards one of the other ghastly hands. "I couldn't stay my hand when I heard you scream." With that he stepped within range and was instantly seized by the hand. The clawed fingers held him tight, almost threatening to crush his skull. Panic nearly overtook him as he was overwhelmed by the stench, and the claws dug into his skin. He took a deep breath, and tried to calm down, but he could feel himself shaking all over, and his heart was racing as his mind was flooded with thoughts of what he had seen moments before, knowing what was in store for him. There was also the knowledge that he was by no way in top shape. Dark had been at about three quarters of his usual strength after his fight with Link, and he hadn't been able to really recover his strength from Gannondorf's assault on him. Then there was still the encounter with the cuccos, and not to mention falling off of Link's stupid horse, so he was only at about a third of his ideal. In essence, he was freaking out over not only the creature, but that he might let Link down by passing out during it's attack.

Through all the panic driven thoughts, the stink of the creature as it came back up out of the ground, and the fear as it ambled towards him first, one thing came through clear as crystal. That one thing was that one way or another, he could very easily die for Link, and he would happy to know he helped the blond. In fact, he'd probably happily throw himself in the way of Gannondorf's most powerful attack to protect Link. He focused on that thought as the horrible thing grew so close to him he could smell the rot of it's breath, and feel the hot stink on his face. Dark was miles away as the teeth tore into his neck violently, and he didn't even cry out. The sudden shock jolted him back, but he refused to scream, trying to keep his mind off of it, he settled his eyes on Link, who was watching helplessly. His heart began to pound and his breath quickened as he was suddenly focused on the pain. He could feel himself getting weaker, but he still refused to struggle, focusing all his mind on the blond hero.

There was no relief when it's foul maw left him to amble towards Link, Dark just focused his anger on the thing as the clawed hand let go. His hand flew to his sword's hilt, and he quickly drew it as the pressure on his head went away, and he let out a battle cry as he launched himself at the monster. A moment later his face met the dirt after his legs gave way under him. NO! This was not happening! He had to kill that thing! Desperately trying to pull himself up, he got to his knees, and tried to lunge at it, but his strength was gone. Dark hit the ground again, his sword falling out of his hand and out of his reach. Not that it mattered, the world was going dark and hazy, he was exhausted, and taken more damage than his weakened body could handle.

"Dark!" He heard Link shout as the thing grew closer to him, but the world was suddenly black as he passed out, strewn across the dirt floor in what was most certainly a pitiful sight.

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**Author Note:** Look forward to the next chapter... I don't know when it will be out, but reviews certainly help in the speed at which it gets written!


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